Guy guards



R. F. JOY

GUY GUARDS Nov. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 15, 1952 INVENTOR Robert}? Jay. BY Q /Z ATTOR Y R. F. JOY

GUY GUARDS Nov. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 13, 1952 INV NTOR Roberi 1? Joy. .BY Z K0039 ATTORNiE United States PatentO GUY GUARDS Robert F. Joy, Bethlehem, Pa., assignor to Bethlehem Steel Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 13, 1952, Serial No. 309,491

1 Claim. (Cl. 189-315) This invention relates to metal guards for protecting guy strands.

The side guys to poles in overhead power and telephone lines and the like are usually provided with guards, which serve to protect the clamped connection of the guy strand to the anchor rod from damage by weather and traffic, and also to render the rod and strand more visible and so less liable to accidental collisions. Guards of this type are generally made of heavy galvanized steel sheets, rolled into a substantially cylindrical form, with a split on one side to permit the guard to be slipped over the strand with the split side downward. They are required to fit tightly to the guy strand without any tendency to slip, rotate, or rattle.

The term guy strand in the present specification and claim is inclusive of wire, rope and cable of all kinds which may be 'used or usable for guying an upright member.

One object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a guy guard which may be economically manufactured and is very easily installed.

Another object is a rigid and strong guy guard formed in one piece of sheet metal, and requiring no expensive special hardware for installation.

Another object is a guy guard which is adapted to be attached to an existing guy structure without removing or loosening the guy clamp.

A further object is a guy guard having integrally formed means for gripping the guy strand at the upper end of the guard, and dependably non-rotatable clamping means at the lower end of said guard.

Still other objects, purposes, and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the specification and claim, and in the two (2) sheets of drawings annexed hereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation showing the guard as applied to a typical guy wire structure;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one form of the guard;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of said guard, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the guard;

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail front view of the upper end of the guard;

Fig. 7 is a detail side view of the upper end of the guard;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a detail rear view showing the attachment of the looped end anchor rod;

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 12 is a detail rear view of a modification of the upper end of the guard;

Fig. 13 is a vertical section on the line 13-13 of Fig. 12;

2,723,729 Patented Nov. 15, 1955 Fig. 14 is a horizontal section of a modified form of the lower end of the guard; and

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary rear view of still another modification of the lower end of the guard.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral 1 designates a pole which is braced in conventional manner by a guy structure including a guy strand 2 having a lower loop portion 3 passed through the thimble eye 4 of an anchor rod 5 and secured by a conventional clamp of counterpart members 6 drawn tightly together on the strand by carriage bolts 7 and nuts 8.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4,the body 9 of the guy guard which is the subject matter of the present invention is preferably formed of deep drawing sheet metal, substantially cylindrical in cross-section, and split lengthwise as at 10 to provide space for the entrance of the guy strand 2. The side edges of the split are preferably bent inwardly as at 11 (Fig. 9) in the central portion of the body 9, and are cut away at top and bottom as at 12 and 13 to assist in placing the guard over the strand.

The upper end of the guard is provided with strand receiving and gripping means which may be formed either as an integral part of the guard, as in Figs. 6-8 inclusive, by simple shearing and stamping operations, or as a separate member attached by welding or the like, as in Figs. 12 and 13.

Referring to Figs. 6-8, the upper end of the guard is provided with an inwardly projecting J-shaped hook portion 14 adapted to receive the guy strand and having a rounded flanged edge 15 to prevent injury to the strand. A short distance below the hook portion 14 are two substantially parallel longitudinal slits 16, between which the metal is depressed to form sloping end walls 17 and 18, and a flat bottom portion 19 having a strand engaging groove 20.

In cases where the sheet metal which is desired to be used for the guard is too stifi or is otherwise unsuitable to be formed in the above described manner, the alternative strand gripping member 21 shown in Figs. 12 and 13 is easy to make and will function very satisfactorily. Said member 21 is formed of a plate having a narrow end portion 22, a depressed portion 23 with a strand engaging concave seat 24, a slightly wider flat portion 25, and a hook portion 26 bent at right angles to the flat portion 25 and having a flanged edge 27. It is preferably secured inside the upper end of the guard by welding as indicated at 28, 29 and 30, giving the additional advantage of reinforcing the guard at these points.

Adjacent its lower end, the guard is provided with strand clamping means which include one or more depressions 31. The lower end of the guard illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 has one depression 31, while that shown in Fig. 15 has two depressions, but any desired number may be provided although only one will be used at any one time. Being identical, only one such depression 31 will be described, it consisting of an inwardly stamped portion forming a flat central seat 32 parallel to the axis of the guard, and sloping upper and lower end walls 33 and 34 extending between said seat and the surrounding portions of the guard body. The seat 32 is provided with a bolt hole 35 for receiving the shank of a carriage bolt 36 passing through the strand loop 3 between the anchor eye 4 and the clamp 6, and secured by the fiat plate washer 37 and nut 38, which when tightened down on the strand loop 3 will prevent rotation of the guard.

If desired, instead of the depressed seat 32, there may be substituted therefor a flat cross member 39 welded at its ends to the guard as at 40 (Fig. 14), which by means of aligned central bolt holes 41 and 42 will permit the strand loop 3 to be clamped thereto as above described. In either case, the clamping surface must allow suflicient space in the guard for proper clearance of the anchor eye 4 and the members of the guy clamp 6.

To attach the guard to the guy strand, the body 9 of the guard needs only to beplaced in a suitable angular position with, respect to theguy strand 2 to engage the upper fastening means to the strand, after which the, guard body is swung downwardly and secured to the strand loop 3.

Although I have thus described my invention hereinabove in considerable detail I do not wish to be limited narrowly to the, exact and specific structure shown, but I may also use, such modifications, substitutions, or equivalents thereof as are embraced within the scope of the invention or pointed out in the appended claim.

I claim:

A guy guard comprising a longitudinally slotted sheet metal. body adapted to be placed over a guy structure References Cited: in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 19,639 Miller July 9, 1935 1,779,990 Shope Oct. 28, 1930 1,893,981 Birkenmaier Jan. 10, 1933 1,996,871. Lemont Apr. 9, 1935 2,054,988 Miller Sept. 22, 1936 2,087,956 Miller July 27, 1937 2,264,430 Bierce Dec. 2, 1941 

